The selected films cover themes as varied as ecology, the condition of workers, African struggles for decolonisation, and the battle against religious fundamentalism.

The jury is to include Algerian directors Djamel Bendeddouche and Mega Mohamed Chérif, alongside other African and European filmmakers and producers. The third prize will be determined by public vote.

Mauritanian director Abderrahmane Sissaka, who directed Timbuktu, and French filmmaker Michel Teboldi, who directed the documentary TV Shale Gas: the Lobbyists Fight Back, will be among those present.

Palestinian director Nejwa Nejjar's Eyes of a Thief will make its Algerian premiere at the event. Starring Egyptian actor Khaled Abol Naga (best Actor for the role in Cairo) and Algerian singer Souad Massi, the film was co-produced by the Algerian Agency for Cultural Outreach (AARC) and is Palestine's entry for Best Foreign Language Film at the 2015 Oscars.

The festival will also pay tribute to Serbian documentary filmmaker Stephane Labudovic, who was involved in the struggle for Algerian independence by filming and photographying National Liberation Front fighters.

Last year, the festival awarded Searching For Sugar Man, a documentary by Malik Benjelloul, a Swedish director of Algerian origin who tragically died last May.